Westview Primary has a new friend on the campus – and everyone is all atwitter about keeping it safe while it waits for its babies to hatch.
A shorebird known as a killdeer has made itself at home on the front playground of the school, and two second grade teachers have spearheaded efforts to make sure students keep a safe distance while the bird patiently waits for its newly-laid eggs to hatch. While students are giving the bird its space, they are learning loads about it – and have become quite fascinated with it.
Cari James and Melodie Noon’s second graders had ventured out into the school’s front playground on March 28 for recess when the classes noticed a small bird on the ground near a tree, chirping loudly and hopping about. The bird was still out there the next day when students returned to the playground, and it was becoming apparent the bird was stressed out.
Turns out, the bird was stressed for a good reason; it had made a nest in the ground, within the thick roots of the tree, and was in the process of laying eggs.
Killdeer are neither endangered nor threatened. They are, however, protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act, which prohibits people from interfering (including killing, capturing, selling, trading and transporting) with protected migratory bird species without prior authorization by the Department of Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
James and Noon have since made a safe space for the bird by utilizing caution tape to block off a section of the playground. They also sent out an e-mail to all the other teachers in the school to let them know about the bird for whenever their classes utilize the playground.
“They’ve been going home and telling their parents about it,” Noon said.
Killdeer are characterized by mostly-brown feathers with reddish-brown fringes, white and black patches on the head, a white belly, and two black bands crossing its front. Its eyes are also reddish-brown; on April 5’s visit to the playground, a couple of students remarked that they think it is a pretty little bird.
The bird has not left its eggs – in fact, Noon and James said the bird quietly sits on its eggs even while the students are playing during recess.
Everyone is currently assuming the bird is female; online articles state both male and female killdeer will incubate their eggs. They can lay up to six eggs, and they are expected to hatch within 22 to 28 days.
Articles also state that although it is a shorebird, killdeer do not necessarily nest close to the water. They will do so on open ground and in gravel – a fact backed by Battle Smith from James’s class.
“Killdeer don’t always find the best places to lay eggs,” he said, alluding to how an active school playground may not have been the best place for the bird to go house hunting.
However, the students have been very respectful of the bird’s little safe corner in the playground. Their teachers always remind them to be quiet whenever they gather at the caution tape perimeter so they do not scare it off.
Paulina Castaneda Calderon from Noon’s class said she thinks it must be difficult for the bird to take care of four eggs – but she has enjoyed getting to check out the bird.
“I think it’s so cool,” she said.
James said learning about the bird right now has been great because it is prepping the students for their upcoming animal unit, which they will start when they return from Spring Break.
“It’s a really fun learning experience for them,” she said.
